A core position in the knowledge economy policies has been ascribed to higher education. This has enhanced the complexity of the environment in which higher education institutions operate. These deal with a wide range of pressures stemming from the State, the corporate world, the society at large and political interests, let alone those arising from the constituencies of higher education institutions (academics, students and non-academics). Institutions are expected to cope with these pressures by developing strategies involving quality management, performance and assessment, innovation, while reconfiguring the relationships between research, teaching and learning. The core business of higher education is being reshaped, challenging institutions' internal life to strategically respond to the reconfiguration of their role and missions. Topics such as governance and management, strategies and strategizing, budget control, performance and assessment, quality management, local and regional innovation come to the fore front. Under Pressure: Higher Education Institutions Coping with Multiple Challenges addresses these topics by convening approaches to the understanding of the interactions between policy drivers and institutional practices in governance, funding, performance indicators, regional innovation, strategy and strategizing, quality and management, and professionals.

A core position in the knowledge economy policies has been ascribed to higher education. This has enhanced the complexity of the environment in which higher education institutions operate. These deal with a wide range of pressures stemming from the State, the corporate world, the society at large and political interests, let alone those arising from the constituencies of higher education institutions (academics, students and non-academics). Institutions are expected to cope with these pressures by developing strategies involving quality management, performance and assessment, innovation, while reconfiguring the relationships between research, teaching and learning. The core business of higher education is being reshaped, challenging institutions' internal life to strategically respond to the reconfiguration of their role and missions. Topics such as governance and management, strategies and strategizing, budget control, performance and assessment, quality management, local and regional innovation come to the fore front. Under Pressure: Higher Education Institutions Coping with Multiple Challenges addresses these topics by convening approaches to the understanding of the interactions between policy drivers and institutional practices in governance, funding, performance indicators, regional innovation, strategy and strategizing, quality and management, and professionals.

This publication deals with projects that the partnership PROMONTORIO developed over the past 30 years. They constitute an impressive body of work for various places across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the USA, ranging from city planning, to culture and education, heritage and conservation, commercial and mixed-use, in addition to hospitality and leisure. The idea of a reflective practice, set forth by PROMONTORIO, summons the ability to critically and ethically reflect on its own actions, while engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. Perceived as kind of ‘practicing school’ for various generations in Portugal, the practice evolved, in both theory and practice, with the idea that deliberate reflection on experience is essential to cultivate a developmental insight on architecture.